Paul Broun



Dr. Paul C. Broun, Jr., a Republican, has represented the 10th Congressional district of Georgia since 2007. (map) He was elected on July 17, 2007 in a special run-off election to replace Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.), who died of cancer of February 13, 2007. He was officially sworn in on July 25.

Environmental record
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Bio
Broun was born in Athens, Georgia, the son of Democratic Georgia state senator Paul Broun, Sr. The younger Broun is a graduate of the University of Georgia and earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia. He lives in Athens, and has his medical practice there, a practice which uniquely consists of primarily housecalls. He and his wife Niki Bronson Broun have two adult daughters and a teenage son.

Prior to being elected in 2007, Broun made three unsuccessful attempts to run for Congress. In 1990, he lost to Democratic Rep. Richard Ray (D-Ga.). He waged an unsuccessful bid in 1992 for the Republican nomination in the same western Georgia House district. Finally, in 1996, he received a minuscule vote share in the U.S. Senate primary.

2007 special election
On February 13, 2007, Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.) died of cancer while serving his seventh term in the House. In order to fill Norwood’s seat, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) was required to issue a writ of election in the ten days following Norwood's death. The election had to occur thirty days after the writ. If no candidate received at least fifty percent of the vote, a runoff election would then take place within the four weeks which followed.

As of February 2007, three candidates had entered the race so far, including Jim Whitehead (R), Ralph T. Hudgens (R), and Terry Holley (D). June 19, 2007 was set as the election date with a July 17 run-off for the top two vote-getters.

In the results of the June special election Jim Whitehead (R) led Paul Broun (R) by 23 points, but early results of the run-off suggested that Broun may have come out ahead. Whitehead had many significant advantages over Broun, including greater campaign spending and key endorsements, including one by Norwood's widow, but surprisingly, as of July 17, with 98 percent of precincts reporting, Broun held a narrow 371-vote lead over Jim Whitehead. The closeness of the race was expected to result in a recount. A week after the run-off election, however, the results became official and Paul Broun was elected, just barely, 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent over Jim Whitehead, a margin of just 394 votes. Initially, Whitehead stated that he would seek a recount, which he was allowed to do with a margin of less than one percent, however, after careful consideration, he decided against it in order not to delay the district's proper representation in Congress. On July 25, 2007, Broun was officially sworn in as the Representative from Georgia's 10th Congressional District by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Committees
After his election, House Republican leaders indicated that Broun would be appointed to the Homeland Security Committee and the Science and Technology Committee.

Contact
DC Office: 2104 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202)225-4101 Fax: (202) 226-0776 Web Email Web Site

External resources

 * Official campaign website

External articles

 * Rachel Kapochunas, "Georgia Conservative Broun Fulfills House Dreams With Special Win," CQ Politics, July 25, 2007.